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xoxobookishgirl 's review for:
The Witch Who Chases the Sun
by Dawn Chen
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rep : Sapphic relationship
"Once upon a time, a witch fell in love with the sun. Ever since then, she has been chasing her light."
🏰Oracle living in a castle
💔Alchemist ex who shows up at her door
💌Non-traditional HEA
⚔️10 years after a war that killed someone they both loved
♟️Complex, morally-grey characters
What I Loved
1) I found the book really easy to get into. The way it is told reflects the main character being an Oracle and her thoughts constantly being in the past as well as the present so halfway through a scene, you would realise it was happening in the past. Personally, this really worked for me as I was confused, but I was the good kind of confused where I was so intrigued that I didn't want to put the book down. However, I do know the writing style may not work for some people.
2) This book was so incredibly emotional and tense which meant the moments of humour really got to me. I love the random remarks that are made. For (spoiler free) example, "maybe Anne was doing all of it for shits and giggles. It hurts no one for some lunatic isolated Oracle to give unhelpful and sometimes mean responses to those who sought her fortune-telling."
3) This book is very twisty and has a lot of wtf did they just say moments. This meant that I loved reading the book at a slowed down pace (even though I wanted to devour it) to piece together everything and it just felt so clever the way everything falls into place. I don't think there is ever a dull moment.
4) I love the way Dawn dealt with the theme of war in this book. Most of the chapters are showing that the characters may have survived a devastating war, but they cannot move on from it. "That's the thing about war, once it ends, some relationships couldn't survive without being tainted." Go into this book expecting the aftermath of war to be a big theme.
5) The relationship. Like all the shit they went through in this book and the way the characters felt so real and I got so emotionally invested in them devastated me. If you love getting way too invested in fictional characters and being devastated constantly, read this book!
6) The setting of the castle and the surrounding town was exactly my kind of setting. Also I love how the absurdness of Anne just ending up in a castle is constantly brought up and all the funny moments that come from that. "My castle, my rules."
Summary
I found this book incredibly hard to review, as there was so many layers to this story that I found it hard to pinpoint specific aspects that hooked me as I think the combination of everything just made this story so great. If you want a sapphic high fantasy that will make you laugh while also simultaneously crying pick this up.
Thank you to Dawn Chen for this eARC in exchange for an honest review
Rep : Sapphic relationship
"Once upon a time, a witch fell in love with the sun. Ever since then, she has been chasing her light."
🏰Oracle living in a castle
💔Alchemist ex who shows up at her door
💌Non-traditional HEA
⚔️10 years after a war that killed someone they both loved
♟️Complex, morally-grey characters
What I Loved
1) I found the book really easy to get into. The way it is told reflects the main character being an Oracle and her thoughts constantly being in the past as well as the present so halfway through a scene, you would realise it was happening in the past. Personally, this really worked for me as I was confused, but I was the good kind of confused where I was so intrigued that I didn't want to put the book down. However, I do know the writing style may not work for some people.
2) This book was so incredibly emotional and tense which meant the moments of humour really got to me. I love the random remarks that are made. For (spoiler free) example, "maybe Anne was doing all of it for shits and giggles. It hurts no one for some lunatic isolated Oracle to give unhelpful and sometimes mean responses to those who sought her fortune-telling."
3) This book is very twisty and has a lot of wtf did they just say moments. This meant that I loved reading the book at a slowed down pace (even though I wanted to devour it) to piece together everything and it just felt so clever the way everything falls into place. I don't think there is ever a dull moment.
4) I love the way Dawn dealt with the theme of war in this book. Most of the chapters are showing that the characters may have survived a devastating war, but they cannot move on from it. "That's the thing about war, once it ends, some relationships couldn't survive without being tainted." Go into this book expecting the aftermath of war to be a big theme.
5) The relationship. Like all the shit they went through in this book and the way the characters felt so real and I got so emotionally invested in them devastated me. If you love getting way too invested in fictional characters and being devastated constantly, read this book!
6) The setting of the castle and the surrounding town was exactly my kind of setting. Also I love how the absurdness of Anne just ending up in a castle is constantly brought up and all the funny moments that come from that. "My castle, my rules."
Summary
I found this book incredibly hard to review, as there was so many layers to this story that I found it hard to pinpoint specific aspects that hooked me as I think the combination of everything just made this story so great. If you want a sapphic high fantasy that will make you laugh while also simultaneously crying pick this up.
Thank you to Dawn Chen for this eARC in exchange for an honest review